A Meeting of Madmen
by Ms.MM
Summary: One-shot based off the author thinking, "This scene would be even more amazing if the Doctor showed up," while watching The Avengers. 11 shows up and says hi to Loki.


(AN: HUGE thank you goes out to Geeky Trenchcoat in the Impala for all her help with my characterization of 11.)

* * *

Loki quietly paced in the glass cage that Fury was so kindly lending him. He drummed his fingers against his thigh and sat down on the padded bench.

_Bah, waiting. I suppose I'm rather better at it than most. This is incredibly dull. I wish one of them would try to work more information out of me. Romanov is quite good. A shame she's on the opposite side. It doesn't matter, they'll burn, they'll all burn..._

A sudden and vaguely familiar sound broke the silence of Loki's cell. He instinctively stood and struck a defensive stance, waiting for the portal to Asgard to open above his head, wondering why the Allfather was coming to get him now, of all times. But there was no burst of light, no neigh from Sleipnir.

There was, however, a large blue box materializing in front of him. Loki noticed that the odd sound had a sort of grinding, crunching quality to it that the Bifrost never had, and it was synced with the box's transparency, or lack thereof. With every pulse of the sound, the box grew more solid.

Loki backed up as far as he could, wishing they'd allowed him to keep some kind of weapon, and watched in disbelief as the box became completely solid.

The door on the box swung open with a clatter, and a bright-eyed human stepped out. He pulled a small, hand-held object out of his coat pocket and pointed it at the cameras surrounding Loki's prison. The thing in his hand whirred, and Loki turned fast enough to see the cameras shorting out. The man said, "Right, that should give us about ten minutes." He glanced around quickly, taking in his surroundings and fixing his eyes on Loki. "Loki? It is Loki, isn't it?"

Loki blinked several times. "What?"

The man raised his eyebrows so far they looked to be in danger of leaving his forehead and said, "Are you Loki? It's a pretty simple question." He paused, grinning and looking absurdly pleased. "Hey, I can say that me and the TARDIS shocked a _god _into silence! That's brilliant!"

Loki was aware his mouth was hanging open and, for once, didn't care. "I am Loki. What...exactly...is that?" Loki nodded at the box.

"Since you didn't ask, I'm the Doctor. Capitol _D_, Doctor. And this-" the Doctor patted the side of the box, "-is my spaceship! The TARDIS, short for Time and Relative Dimension in Space, which is a big name to say every time I need to tell someone to run to it or get it or find it or eat it or something, so TARDIS it is. And _this_-" he waved the thing he'd used on the cameras, "-is my sonic screwdriver." He waved it in the air and ducked around the corner of the box-_pardon me, TARDIS-_out of Loki's line of sight. "It does more cool stuff! Watch!"

Loki hesitantly walked to where he could see the Doctor, and saw him hunched over the door of the cage. "What are you-" The door hissed and slid open. Loki's eyes widened.

The bright-eyed man sprung up and grinned at Loki as the door shut behind him. "Don't suppose you know what these walls are made of? Besides glass." Loki shook his head incredulously. "That's ok, I already know. Must get a bit boring in here, yeah? You being a god...thing, and all. I guess that trigger mechanism threatening to dump you-" he glanced at his screwdriver and then at the floor, lifting his feet like they were sticking, "-30,000 feet, right? Yeah, 30,000 feet down into the ocean or whatever we're above right now. That must be a little, uh, sobering." The Doctor suddenly grew serious, stepping closer. "Listen to me, Loki. You're in danger."

Loki sighed, exasperated and slightly overwhelmed. "Even if I did not already know this, why should I either believe you or that you care?"

A crease appeared between the bright-eyed man's brows. "You know you're in danger from the Chitauri...and you're wondering why I care?" He paused again, eyes flicking to the side. "Well. I guess that does makes some sense. What with your past, you really _don't _have a reason to think that anyone would care about you." An emotion crossed the Doctor's face, and Loki's stomach churned when he realized what it was.

"You _pity _me, you ridiculous being?"

"I am _not _ridiculous!" Loki snorted. "Ok, yes, I'm very ridiculous. What were you saying? Oh, right." The Doctor ran a hand through his hair. "What's wrong with pity? It's not like I think you're stupid or anything, I just feel a bit sorry for you. You've been through much worse than you deserve."

A sudden and unwelcome rush of emotion surged through Loki's breast, and he swallowed, struggling to hide it from the odd stranger. Composing himself, he said quietly, "As we were debating, I'm in danger and you _care_. Why do you care? Everyone seems to be of the opinion that I deserve exactly what I received."

The Doctor pursed his lips and sat himself on Loki's bench, spinning around and propping his heels on the glass so that he was upside down. "Honestly?"

"I imagine it would quicken things considerably, as long as you don't get distracted by the shininess of this room again."

The Doctor laughed. Loki started, slightly surprised. The laugh was high-pitched and genuine, not mocking or ironic. Not what he'd grown used to hearing. "Well, honestly then, I dunno. I heard about you and I saw what Odin did to you, and I saw what you've been doing with the Chitauri, and I decided to come here and try to help you."

"As somewhat flattering as that is, it didn't answer the ever-pressing question of _why_."

"It didn't, did it?"

"Perhaps if you were not dangling off that..."

"But I like being upside down! Some of the most important scientific discoveries were discovered while the discoverer was upside down."

"You have already discovered me."

Loki wasn't sure if his sarcasm was ignored or if it had registered at all. "Now, _why, _that's a good question." The Doctor toppled off the bench and landed on his hands and knees, quickly springing up and leaning against his TARDIS. His eyes grew cloudy. "Why? Why should I care about someone like you, Loki Odinsson?"

"I am no son of Odin," Loki growled.

The Doctor appeared not to have heard him. "All intents and purposes, I shouldn't care. I shouldn't be in here-" he gestured to the cage, "-I should be in there, with the S.H.I.E.L.D people, helping come up with a way to stop you." He looked up, focusing on Loki again. "But I'm not, am I? I'm here, trying to tell you that...that I'm going to try and stop the Chitauri."

Loki considered his next words carefully. He lifted his chin. "That makes us enemies, Doctor."

"I said I was going to stop them, not you. Look, I know you want vengeance and to rule and all that stuff, but...really, it's not going to work."

Eyes narrowed, Loki studied the Doctor's face. "There's something else, isn't there?" The Doctor shifted his weight and fiddled with his bow tie. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Loki, I'm a time traveler. What d'you think I'm not telling you?" the Doctor said earnestly, his forehead creased in concern. Loki wasn't used to having such a look directed at him.

"Are you implying that I lose?" The Doctor huffed through his nose. Loki frowned and, to buy thinking time, he asked, "Why should I believe your actions to be as altruistic as you say?"

"Can you think of any reason I'd have to lie to you?"

"I know nothing about you, Doctor. I do not know from whence you come, I do not even know if you are some kind of S.H.I.E.L.D agent or not. What reason have I to trust you?"

"Loki, you're talking about trust and all those things like I'm here to take you with me."

Loki paused. "I assumed you were."

"Nope. Well, not yet. I dunno what that would do to the timey wimey stuff if I did take you right out from under S.H.I.E.L.D's nose. Might rip a hole in the space-time continuum, or it might solve everything a lot neater than I'd be able to."

The Doctor made to put a hand on Loki's shoulder, but the god sidestepped. That detestable look of pity crossed the Doctor's face once again. "But I think that letting you know what's going on and who I am, you might be able to stave off some trouble? I know that you're smart, and it's better to let you know everything than let you wander around in the dark." A short, haunted look crossed the bright-eyed man's face. "That's true for everyone, actually..."

"Let me see if I understand this. You, a time-traveling, easily distracted, overgrown child with a bow tie, wish to 'help' me for no other reason than you think it's the right thing to do." Loki allowed scorn to seep into his voice.

"You're missing the point." The Doctor, apparently unable to keep still for more than two minutes, skittered away and pressed his nose against the glass where a ramp led up to the door on the outside. "Yeah, humans can be a bit stupid, but they're strong and enduring, and a lot of them are more accepting than you might think. I don't need the TARDIS to see that what you're trying to do can't succeed." The Doctor turned, smiling. "But I've met you, Loki. I know you hurt, and I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry, but-"

"But what?" Loki snapped, glaring. "Stop trying to force me into what I used to think I was, and accept that I am and always have been-"

The Doctor cut him off. "A monster."

And suddenly, in that moment, the strange, childish, sporadic being looked tired and unbearably sad.

Everything became clear. Loki smiled in the way he did when people suddenly made sense. "You have experienced this," he said softly. "You do not do this out of altruism or faith in me; you make this offer because you understand. Or you think you understand, which is quite enough to propel an effort of this magnitude. Regardless, you have been the monster, the villain."

Loki had expected the man to either break down or leave. He had not expected him to smack himself on the forehead several times, grin and say, "Oh, ok! That makes a lot more sense."

"What?"

"What? That does make sense. Well done, you! Have you always been this brilliant? I think you've always been this brilliant. How did I not notice you're brilliant? You're very sharp, where did you learn that?"

It took Loki a moment to realize the question was not intended to be rhetorical, but apparently the moment was too long. The Doctor was already babbling on. "Story for another time, I guess." He giggled. "_Time, _get it? Ah, neither do I."

The Doctor spun around, nearly tripped over his own feet and continued around the TARDIS. "Ok, so you didn't magic my sonic screwdriver into your pocket or anything, right?"

"Don't be ridiculous, although I understand that's rather hard for you."

"Right, because you don't know how to work it. So you wouldn't have taken it. Brilliant, I think I'm ready!"

"Do you even know what sarcasm is?"

The Doctor came around the opposite side of the TARDIS and poked his head inside, allowing Loki a glimpse of a very, very expansive interior. "Well, I'm off then! Sorry to bother you, but I think you knowing who I am might help things later." He shut the door and finally held still for a moment, looking at Loki. "Goodbye Loki. I hope I see you again. I hope you don't hurt if I see you again."

He stepped forward and, before Loki realized what was happening, hugged him tightly.

Loki was too surprised to do anything but stand there for a few seconds, his arms stiff, staring fixedly at a spot on the TARDIS. Then his instincts kicked in.

He pushed the Doctor's arms off him and mindlessly propelled himself backwards. Loki hit the wall with a crack and frantically tried to summon his weapons, letting out a small sound of pain from where his back had hit the glass. A small whirring sound caught his attention, and he looked up.

The Doctor had his aforementioned screwdriver pointed directly between Loki's eyes. His expression was solemn. Loki was breathing hard and still expecting some kind of attack. He swallowed and groped for a knife that wasn't there. The Doctor pocketed his sonic and said, "How old are you, Loki?"

Attempting at humor, Loki responded, "Good lord, I think you gave me whiplash." He clenched his jaw and resisted the urge to shudder. "I am roughly 500 human years old."

The Doctor smiled. "Oh, you're just a baby! I'm over 900 years old. And I hurt, just as badly as you."

"Do you?" Loki sneered.

"Oh yeah, it's great that I haven't gone mad. The bad kind of mad, not the good kind, to clarify. Because I'm already the good mad, the mad where fezzes are cool." The Doctor clapped Loki on the shoulder and darted away, flinging open the door to the TARDIS. "That's way too much serious for one day, so I'm gonna go get my fez before I go beat the Chitauri! Bye-bye, Loki!"

He paused, one foot already inside his blue box, and turned, catching Loki's eye while grinning widely. "I like you, Loki. Try to remember what it feels like not to hurt. You're brilliant! Ok, leaving now."

The door clattered shut, and the noise started again, until the box was fading away, leaving Loki alone. He sat on the padded bench, bowing his head and closing his eyes.

The angry roar of Banner's alter-ego reached his ears. He smiled.


End file.
